Hey you found me! Welcome to my blog :)
My name is Keana Kachmar - I'm a 25 year old Canadian whose only real passion in life is TRAVEL. Yeah you heard right, no major hobbies or interests and maybe that makes me boring... but, maybe the reason for that is because I dove head first into exploring the world at a young age and I just never stopped.
I graciously blessed the earth on July 23rd, 1997. This makes me a Leo and I REALLY embody a Lion with my personality. I'm an outgoing and honest person when you get to know me, and my main goal is to fall in love with both myself and my life. I really base all my decisions on what will make me the happiest at the end of the day. We only have one chance to live on this earth and I really just want to make the most of mine.
Days after I was born my parents took me straight to my lake lot and only a few months later I was on a plane to Florida for my very first trip. Obviously I don't remember those experiences now, but what I do remember is always being on the go while growing up. My Dad owns a Ukrainian dance studio in Edmonton, so I was always travelling with his dance groups at a young age. Around the age of 8, I started going on Caribbean cruises with my family every year; visiting multiple different islands/countries every trip. This really sparked my interest for travelling to foreign places.
I ended up visiting over 15 countries by the time I graduated high school, and I didn't want it to stop. When I finished school all I wanted to do was get out of my small town and explore the world, so I decided to pack my bags and move to Australia for 6 months at 18 years old. I had the most amazing experience working and exploring the Melbourne and Sydney areas as well as some pacific islands, but as soon as it was time to go home I had already decided I wanted to go back and see more of the country. After about 8 months of working and saving money at home, I returned to Australia. This time, I bought a 4x4 and lived in my car while travelling up the East Coast for 3 months with two of my friends.
After having a friendship ending argument with my "best friend" at the time, I made the brave decision to branch off alone and travel Bali and Thailand solo for 2 months! At the time I was both scared and excited, but the experience made me completely fall in love with solo, budget, do it yourself travel. I truly discovered myself as a person and made so many friendships and memories along the way.
On my way home from this trip I was watching the flight attendants on the plane and I remember thinking "wow, that would be such an ideal job for me". I'd had this thought previously, but I kind of scratched it because my family always encouraged me to go to school and get a high paying job. But this time it was different, I could literally see myself so clearly doing their job and I knew that despite the factors against me, I was eager to pursue a career in aviation.
When I got home I did some research and found a program at MacEwan University called "Travel and Tourism". Knowing this would help me achieve my goals and provide me with a good selection of career options, I applied and began my studies in September 2018. This program really helped me diversify my travel knowledge and make me realize once again how much of a passion I had for the industry; especially after hearing about the many opportunities that were possible after graduation.
With only one semester left, I ended up taking a few months off from University to work at a summer camp. During this time off, I also had the opportunity to do another solo backpacking trip through South America. This trip REALLY took me out of my comfort zone both physically with hikes/treks and mentally with prominent language barriers and experiences being integrated into local cultures. I'm grateful that I had this experience as it once again pushed my boundaries and helped me learn more about the amazing world we live in.
Upon returning, I finished University and landed a practicum with Westjet in the Edmonton International Airport. I was later offered employment as a Guest Service Ambassador and I absolutely loved the job and the step closer it got me to being a flight attendant. Westjet blessed me with travel experiences to Arizona, New York, Puerto Vallarta and Las Vegas in my time there before the pandemic. I'm grateful for them helping me continue to travel for next to nothing, to this day. I worked for WestJet for just under a year but unfortunately with the Covid-19 pandemic, over 3,000 Westjet employees lost their jobs, and I was one of them.
Around the same time I started with Westjet, one of my professors from university recommended me to a travel agency called "Travel Gurus" who thankfully hired me on the spot. While working there I got to help make peoples travel dreams become a reality. My job also gave me more than enough travel opportunities for myself and I feel a lot more knowledgeable in the travel industry since starting as a travel agent.
In October 2020 my travel agency gave me the opportunity to go Cuba for a week, helping me mark off my 30th country! This is a huge milestone for me as it makes me feel much closer to my goal of visiting 100 countries in my life time. I'm really excited to continue seeing the world from different points of view and never losing my sense of adventure.
After working as a Travel Agent, I finally got my first job as a Flight Attendant with Flair Airlines in Ottawa! After the pandemic started, this was the first flight attendant posting I saw available (in Canada) so I was willing to do whatever I had to do in order to make my Flight Attendant dream a reality. Although commuting across the country from Edmonton every second week was difficult, it taught me a lot of self discipline and patience. I had FINALLY started in my dream career; every day was a new learning experience and I absolutely LOVED my job.
SO, what's next? As of October 2021, i've been working with Swoop Airlines (Westjets Low Cost Carrier) in my hometown; Edmonton! I'm excited to see the many places this new company takes me, both physically, mentally and professionally. I have big goals of being a flight attendant supervisor or base manager in my future as I'm so passionate about this industry and I view it as a life long career. I want to continue to travel the world a create new experiences and memories wherever I go. I'm thankful that I have a passion for the travel industry and that I can ride whatever wave comes my way! I also want to continue growing this blog to help others have safe and smart travel experiences, so thank you if you've read up to this point and have supported me in any way!
"Life is short, the world is wide. I wanna make some memories"